The door is staring me down forcing me to open it empty handed.
But there is no mouse around me to remove the obstacles ahead.
Did I feed it too much cheese?
Or was it the gentile touch that I craved so much?
Could it be the dyed syringe from the ink jet printer full of water?
Or did it just not like the color blue?
The portal which was opened when the baseboard heater was installed.
Does not carry my scurrying little visitor anymore.
Written: May 5th, 2026, for contest sponsored by: Natasha L Scragg
1st place contest winner
*****************
1. Cinderella
There once was a Fairy so frazzled,
whose magic was sloppy and dazzled.
She meant to make gowns—
but turned mice into clowns—
Cinderella left early, bedazzled.
2. Little Riding Hood
Red met the big wolf on the trail,
who said, "I'll eat you!"—quite the detail.
But Red, being sweet,
said, "Please—after you eat,"
and the wolf felt too guilty to prevail.
3. Goldilocks
Goldilocks strolled in with a grin,
But the Bears had installed a new PIN.
She tapped and poked and guessed—
Papa Bear was impressed—
And they adopted her in as kin.
4. Jack and the Beanstalk
A Giant cried, "Fee-fi-fo-fum!"
But softly—his courage was numb.
He whispered instead,
"Please don't steal my bread…"
And Jack hugged him and called him "my chum."
5. Snow White
The Queen asked her mirror one day,
"Who's fairest?" in her usual way.
It sighed, "Well… Snow's cute,
but you've got better *suit*—
maybe focus on *fashion*, okay?"
Not the charming lane
nor the cozy log cabin
Not the warmth of the hearth
nor its crackling fire
Not the rifles by the door
nor waters lapping at the shore
Not the frolic of the meadow
nor the mysterious forest
No, by none of these am I called
~ growing up with a chip installed
Wanting to know I’m safe.
Wanting to know I’m good.
Needing security.
Needing praise.
Needing courage.
Wanting to be brave.
An hour and thirty minutes
the daylight has been gone.
But in my state of mind
it has been too long.
I need you here
to scare away the fears,
to hide away the tears.
Six years old.
Innocence lost.
Only my sanity
is the cost.
These nightmares won’t
set me free.
I only see
what I’ll never be.
He ruined me.
He ruined me.
He’s installed panic
in my head.
Makes me wish
I were dead.
His deviance
controls me.
Even the truth
won’t set me free.
His power over me
enrages my heart.
He’s taken my soul
and torn it apart.
He took my values
and made me ill.
And yet they expect me
to love him still.
I’ll never understand
this cold, cruel world.
How can a daddy
harm his little girl?
I gazed at one doll and one pillow in an abandoned house. A wall was charred. How many more dolls did these walls contain? How many memories? How many lives? I was standing at the intersection as traffic following a pilot vehicle streamed past. Soil was torn, new lines to houses installed, and soil was replaced. All in a day’s work. An assignment, after all. But I couldn’t help but embrace images of a family who lived there. In absence of facts, a story created lingered in the air.
on a cold day
a curtain unfurled
flapped to the wind
Written For A Cleaver Intriguing Haibun Contest
52.
My 9th Leaf
Got thee from small vase
Old décor replace
Host plant of 1st Leaf
Thrown away no grief
Diff'rent “fortune” plant
Planted by father
Installed there after
I was there when placed
A little so fazed
First leaf's host no more
Third day October
Sunset was nearer
While feeling not well
I'm under cold spell
Drinking I fruit juice
Just inside our house
Living room, oh browse
On vase first leaf was
‘Lil water still has
Buddhas adjacent
Simple day only
Not planned – truthfully
Just went to Passi
Withdrew some money
Wilted 1st Leaf host.
-10/03/2011
(Dumarao)
*My Toladas Collection
A Martian ordered some Venetian blinds
A Venetian ordered the Martian kind
The Martian installed a few
The Venetian's lawyer sued
The Martian's did too ~ Lawyers' peace of mind
A sudden gift upon a dusty road,
I hesitated, thought it might explode,
Or was it just another episode
Of my life’s unexpected puzzle mode?
How many minutes have I borrowed,
How many favor’s have I winnowed,
Dams installed and still the big river flowed?
My life rolled on by some mysterious code,
Until a sudden gift to me was bestowed.
He bought a steel building
Someone told him to use
Ancient technology to create
A pro founded dwelling
He bought. the building
he decided a rammed earth center
wall would complete the design
Where the garage door is a cobbled
Wall would installate us that in most
Wintered seasons we are due the
Coldness that winter owed
He drilled holes
And installed rebar
And use cobb to create thick walls
Interioral to buffer the coldest season
The Ancients, the Ancients he
Taught and preached to benifet the
Extremes of the seasons
Both ancient and modern
Cause it ain't she-it and my darn
There is chill to ward-way
To winters cold to spay
Might we benifet for natures negagence
And the thermal mass to ease
and not make task
Oh the Ancients he spoke
to be taken serious and be a joke
that man and family should prosper
And benifet not to chore ah-rah-la-ah
The Ancients both modern and sound
Techs broad and ah bound
Cheapest to material these mortals sound
Oh the Ancients!
Dammit all, I need my laptop
before Beta hazes the flow
Goddam glasses, where are they
During the Second Layer
A guy is fixing the bed
But It still squeaks for some reason
In adult dreams I needn’t
Explain why the bed squeaks
When I built the thing I installed
Hook-eyes to keep you spread
and use zip ties because
the Asian way is to resist
We two like it this way
I don’t know why all this
Is related. It all made
sense a minute ago
During the First Layer
That woman from your work
was here with those Siamese eyes
Headlights as hard as this bed
She works her hips and heels
And looks at me when you can’t see
But now I’m awake enough
To watch the handyman
Trying to fix the squeak
They made a horror flick
He was weak or he was sick
They chose him as the star
He can run, but won't get far
They created a wall compartment
Inside his small apartment
They installed cameras there
Reality show, unwanted, but they didn't care.
(bridge)
He felt ill, he began to ail
No idea of the hand pushing down the scale
Romance and work dove down the drain
They laughed and gloated at his pain.
(Chorus)
It’s a horror flick, but the plot is real,
They aren't like us in the way they feel.
He’s the star they chose, but the plot is sick,
Living and dying in their horror flick.
He heard them speak, felt nerve gas in his room
His apartment was a secret tomb.
He knew too much, but the cops would not believe
And he could not save others, for them we grieve.
So, learn the lesson be an owl:
Around us ghouls are on the prowl
They pass as normal, but empathy lacks
And in normal life, there are hidden attacks.
It could happen to you too
Bewildered by all the bad things that accrue
A life derailed, no suspicion why
When the only exit seems the choice to die.
So many times, I've held my head low
So many times, I've taken a blow
Somehow, some way, I've pulled on my strings
And found some kind of way to better some things
Take for instance, When I hear a bad rumor
I say to myself- with a good sense of humour
"As bad as it is, someone has it a lot worse than me"
Yet someone's got it worse than them; undoubtedly
I tell all my friends, my children and wife
We all need to have humour installed in our life
A keen sense of humour can help in ways
That could make someone feel better in their toughest days
Life's dull without humour, and it could be quite a bore
We all need to have humour, need I say any more
Humour has helped me to connect all the dots
When I've been tied up- it untangled the knots
Humour is nice, it often makes me smile
It's nice to hear some good humour once in a while
The rewards will reap good and most likely be kind
So, I'll share my good humour with you...
That is, of course... If you don't mind
My wallet is empty of cash
When it appears which is rarely
I usually give it away
Doesn’t really matter, not really
It’s gone as soon as I get it anyway
It never lasts but that's okay
Besides, I have plenty of credit
VISA, MasterCard, Discovery
And the more I “spend”
With that lending hand
The more trust I build
Upping my score. Score!
Up the stakes, wait, change the rules?
Now, it’s me who can’t trust, who?
Sky rocketing interest rates
A debt that’s out of control
Taxing me everywhere I go
The scam’s all decorated
Beautifully choreographed
Beautifully camouflaged
All alluring, so endearing
As I assume my plastic smile
At my recently installed
Big beautiful screen on the wall.
Mentally we rummage through
Our trashcans of the past
Viewing what was worthless
When in that trash were cast:
A milestone magazine we see in there
Worth thousands in “green backs” now
Oh my, if we had known
The things that we now avow.
Mountains of words we wished we’d said
Lying in a dusty, useless heap
Applicable now that time has passed
But … didn’t know that we should keep.
And people’s names we thought were bad
We discarded thoughtfully
But as time passed we slowly learned
Twas we who didn’t see clearly.
Critiques installed in folders bold
Of things we did not approve
Time moved on … we re-assessed
Those things now are “in-the-groove”.
Now we know of judgements made
Before our many years did flow
Were all based on things
We didn’t really know.
I spent two hours on the website trying to renew my license
new system installed in January
Much easier they said
My husband spent an hour on it
He brought me their phone number
Call them, he suggested
I could not get a person, only a recorded message
If you are in group A, press 1
If you are in group B, press 2
If you are in group C…..
I did not know what group I was in
That is on a teensy postcard we had accidentally thrown away
I resolved to try the next day
Spent half an hour on the phone when I noticed online help
I called the number
The lady talked me through steps one through eight.
I cannot help you past this step, she informed me.
It has to be the director of your group.
Which group are you in?
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